JAKARTA POLICE TO DEPLOY 19,000 PERSONNEL ON MAY DAY

 By Andi Abdussalam

          Jakarta, April 30 (Antara) - The Jakarta Police will deploy some 19,557 personnel to guard the May Day rallies in the capital city where about 7,000-10,000 workers plan to hold rallies for two days on Thursday and Friday.
         Of the 19,557 police personnel, about 3,000 are traffic police officers who will maintain order in traffic, and help it flow and avoid gridlocks.
         "Police officers will also help guard laborers from their gathering points to their rally destinations," Deputy Director for Traffic Police of the Jakarta Regional Police, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Sambodo Purnomo said here on Wednesday.
         He said there were 14 points of destinations for workers to hold rallies in Jakarta. These points included the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, the Mardeka Palace, the Parliament building, the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration and the Bung Karno Sports Stadium.

NEXT GOVT EXPECTED TO FOCUS ON FOOD, PRO-PEOPLE PROGRAMS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 30 (Antara) - As an agrarian country with vast areas and a country with a large population that depends on the agricultural sector, Indonesia should have been able to maintain its food sovereignty and resilience.          The agricultural sector, where most of Indonesia's 240 million tie their fate, should maximally be managed to provide fair distribution of prosperity to the all its people. Yet, the agriculture sector has not yet been maximally cultivated so far to improve people's welfare.          "There are many things that have to be done to create food sovereignty in Indonesia, one of which, is the fair distribution of the agrarian sector," Said Abdullah, coordinator of the working group of the Prosperous Village Alliance (ADS), stated on Tuesday.          Despite the fact that Indonesia has issued Law No. 41/2009 on Protection of Sustainable Food Crop Agricultural Land, yet it is weak in implementing the law. "So far, there has been massive conversion of agricultural land at a fast pace," Abdullah pointed out.          Likewise, the protection for small-scale farmers from uncertain weather conditions is also unclear. They still lack means of production. According to Abdullah, small-scale farmers are also often ignored and thus, fall prey to the efforts made in the name of developing food for national need.

COMPETITIVENESS OF INDONESIA'S PRODUCTS TO WEAKEN IN WAKE OF POWER TARIFF HIKES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 28 (Antara) - The basic electricity tariff hike may increase production costs, particularly of domestic textile products by about 15 percent, thus weakening their competitiveness in the face of next year's ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).          "The production cost of both up and downstream textile products is expected to rise by 15 percent when the basic electricity tariffs increase in May," General Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Producers Association (API) Ade Sudradjat said.          Textile industries have predicted that the competitive edge of Indonesia's textile products will therefore be weakened in the face of the ASEAN Economic Community, which will begin next year.          "The increase in the basic power rate (TDL) beginning on May 1, 2014, will affect production costs. I am afraid it will disturb the performance of industries, particularly that of big industries, amid preparations to enter the AEC," Industry Minister MS Hidayat said on Monday.          Electricity tariffs for large-scale industries will increase in the range of 8.6-13.3 percent every two months as of May 1. The increase is based on the results of a discussion with the House of Representatives and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.          The government will no longer subsidize the electricity tariffs for large-scale industries as of November 1.

RULING PARTY CONCLUDES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CONVENTION

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 27 (Antara) - The Democrat Party (PD) concluded here on Sunday its presidential candidate convention for 11 participants who would be selected as the ruling party's presidential candidate in next July 9 presidential elections.          The convention debate which was held at Sahid Hotel in Jakarta was closed by PD General Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is also the chairman of the party's Supreme Council.          The eleven participants of the convention will further be assessed by three survey institutes to find who among the participants has the highest electability. The Democratic Party has hired three survey institutes which will begin to work on Monday (April 28).          PD Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) said it was the people who would decide the winner of the convention.  "The one who will decide the winner is not SBY, neither is the Supreme Council but by the people," Yudhoyono said when closing the convention.          He said that through debates in the convention, the 11 participants had revealed their ideas, solutions and policies regarding problems facing the nation.          "If the people follow the lines of their ideas, they will not make any mistake in deciding their choices," Yudhoyono who is also the Indonesian President, said.

INDONESIA NEEDS TO IMPROVE ITS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 26 (Antara) - Indonesia, a country of over 240 million people with over 17 thousand islands, needs to improve its land transportation system to ensure a dynamic flow of passengers and goods in the country.          The dynamic demographic growth, rapid urbanization, regional gaps and rising energy consumption are factors that pose challenges on one side but also offer opportunities on the other.          This complexity, however, has caused a large gap between the available means of transportation and increasing movement of passengers and goods.          The Ministry of Transportation noted that the gap between capacity and load movement was mainly to be attributed to increasing economic growth and rising purchasing power of the people.          On the one hand, the situation will lead to complexity when it comes to ensuring availability of transportation for vast sections of population, but on the other, it will also open up new investment opportunities, Transportation Minister EE Mangindaan said.          "So, this will necessitate the development of a transportation system that can be integrated with the economy, especially on Java Island," Minister EE Moiangindaan said in press statement on Tuesday.

MUSLIMS NEED COALITION OF ISLAMIC PARTIES

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 23 (Antara) - The Islamic political parties, which collectively won about 32 percent of the votes in the April 9 legislative elections based on unofficial quick counts, need to form a coalition to serve Muslims' interest.          "A coalition of Islamic parties is needed to serve the interest of the Muslim community and the people as a whole," Abdul Ghaffar, chairman of the Human Research and Development Center of the Yogyakarta branch of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said on Monday.          He said the formation of a coalition by Islamic parties was needed as long as it was aimed at serving the interest of the Muslim community, not for a certain group only. Therefore, as they had a relatively large number of votes, namely about 32 percent, Islamic parties need to form their own alliance.          Based on unofficial quick counts, the three top positions in the recent legislative elections were secured by nationalist parties with a combined voter turnout of about 45 percent. However, these nationalist parties, respectively, had their own presidential candidates. Thus, it was impossible for them to coalesce with each other.          Yet, they had presidential candidates with a relatively high electability. The first winner of the legislative election, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), for example, had nominated popular Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi.

GOVERNMENT IMPROVING DISTRIBUTION OF RICE FOR POOR

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 22 (Antara) - The government is now intensifying supervision and improving the distribution of about 2.8 million tons of rice for the poor (raskin) allocated for 15.5 million target families across the country this year.          As part of its social protection policies for the poor, the government, since 2008, has provided 19.21 million tons of raskin worth Rp97 trillion, until 2013. Each poor family has been allocated 15 kg raskin per month at a price of Rp1.6 thousand per kg.          "The raskin program contributes 40 percent of the need for rice to a poor family, which reaches about 38 to 40 kg per month," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono informed the Raskin Coordination Team's meeting here on Monday.          Earlier, the chief minister for people's welfare stated that the government had done a lot of things so far, to improve the distribution of raskin to the recipients. "We have made improvements in the allocation of raskin distribution," stated Agung Laksono on Thursday (April 10).

IDEA TO FORM GREATER INDONESIA COALITION BEING QUESTIONED

 By Andi Abdussalam

          Jakarta, April 21 (Antara) - The idea to bring Islamic political parties to join as a major nationalist counterpart in a "Greater Indonesia coalition" is being questioned whether it can be realized.
         Not all the Islamic parties had the same attitude regarding the idea, which was raised by the National Mandate Party (PAN) Advisory Council's Chairman Amien Rais in Jakarta last Thursday.
         Some suspected that the idea was raised in an effort to bring PAN General Chairman Hatta Rajasa to pair as a running mate with Prabowo Subianto, the presidential candidate of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).
         The Gerindra is a nationalist party, which won the third place (about 11.80 percent of the votes) based on unofficial quick counts on the results of the April 9 legislative election.
         Based on the unofficial quick counts, two nationalist parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) won the first place with 18.90 percent of the votes and the Golkar Party secured the second place winning 14.30 percent.
         Like the Gerindra, the two first and second winners of the legislative elections had also announced their own presidential candidates, the PDIP with Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi and the Golkar with its general chairman Aburizal Bakrie (ARB). Yet, these three contestants needed to form a coalition before they can nominate their candidates.

INDONESIA DETERMINED TO EMERGE AS NEW ASIAN TIGER

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 20 (Antara) - Indonesia is now putting in place industrial development programs across the country in an effort to create a new economic growth momentum and emerge as a new Asian economic tiger.          "I am very much convinced that the current 21st century will be the best century for Indonesia, as the country is destined to emerge as an Asian giant," former Indonesian ambassador to the United States Dino Patt Djalal, who is now taking part in the ruling Democratic Party presidential candidate convection, said in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday last week.          As part of the development, the Ministry of Industry is encouraging the acceleration and equitable distribution of locating industries throughout the country.          "We hope we can continue to develop industries throughout the country to increase their added values, particularly industries outside Java," Industry Deputy Minister Alex SW Retraubun said in press statement made available to Antara here on Wednesday.

JUSUF KALLA IS IDEAL RUNNING MATE FOR JOKOWI?

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 16 (Antara) - The Bandung-based Padjadjaran University (Unpad) said on Tuesday that of the four presidential-vice presidential candidate pairs it had assessed in a simulation on the human right aspect, the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla duo recorded the highest score.          Some observers had opined that it will be ideal for popular Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, to run for president with Jusuf Kalla (JK) as his running mate.          The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI), which according to unofficial quick counts won the first place in last week's legislative elections, had nominated Jokowi as its presidential candidate for the July 9 presidential contest.          Tipped by many to be the winner of the presidential election, Jokowi is currently communicating with other electoral contestants, including seeking a running mate. The PDIP had previously opened communications with the National Democrat Party (NasDem).          Political communications expert Lely Arrianie Napitupulu of the Mercu Buana University said if the NasDem can encourage Jusuf Kalla to pair up with Jokowi, the PDIP will face no problems.

NATIONAL EXAM BEING USED AS TARGET OF PRACTICAL POLITICS?

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 15 (Antara) - Amid the general elections in the current 'year of politics', when the country will see a change in the leadership in October, the government is organizing a national examination for senior high school students.          A total of 2.8 million students from upper secondary schools (SMA), senior high Islamic schools (MA), senior high vocational schools (SMK), and Packet C students appeared for a three-day-long state examination across the country on Monday.          The 2.8 million students will become first-time voters in the July 9, 2014, presidential election. They can contribute a large number of votes to electoral contestants.          Therefore, it was surprising when it was found that the name of popular Governor Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, appeared in the Indonesian Language subject of the national examination.          As Jokowi was named as a presidential candidate by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), the inclusion of his name in the exam materials soon drew criticism.

SOME 2.8 MILLION SCHOOL STUDENTS APPEAR FOR NATIONAL EXAMS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 14 (Antara) - About 2.8 million students from upper secondary schools (SMA), senior high Islamic schools (MA), senior high vocational schools (SMK), and Packet C students appeared for a three-day long state examinations across the country, on Monday.          President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, through his twitter account, wished them luck for the national examinations, which was one of the stages they have to clear before taking up further studies at universities.          The format of the national exams held this year differs from that of the previous years. The results of this year's examinations will be used to gain acceptance at state universities.          "You must have high spirit while appearing in the exams," the President noted, expressing hope that students will perform satisfactorily in the national examinations.     "May you get satisfactory results," prayed the President.          The number of SMA, MA, and Packet C students appearing in this year's examinations totaled 1,644,713, while the number of SMK students taking the same exam was recorded at 1,184,987.

ISLAMIC-BASED PARTIES CAN FORM COALITION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 13 (Antara) - The Islamic-based political parties have the potential to form a coalition to nominate presidential and  vice presidential candidates for the July 9, 2014 presidential elections.          Based on unofficial quick counts on the results of the April 9 legislative election, Islamic parties collectively won about 32 percent of the votes, exceeding the 25 percent presidential threshold as required by the law for a political party or a group of political parties to nominate a presidential candidate.          According to Islamic political observer Dr Yon Mchmudi of the University of Indonesia, Islamic parties have the chance to form a strong coalition and to nominate a presidential candidate for the July 9, 2014 presidential race.          "The Islamic-based parties such as the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP) have the potential to become an alternative force," he said on Friday.          Yon Machmudi said the coalition of the religious-based parties could serve as an alternative force because they had a collective vote gain of about 32 percent. After all, they all have relatively similar ideologies.

PDIP, NASDEM CAN FORM IDEAL COALITION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 12 (Antara) - Observers believe the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) could build an ideal coalition with a strong government if it merged with NasDem and picked Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla as its presidential pair-up.          Forming a coalition with the National Democrat Party (NasDem) will be helpful for PDIP to support incumbent Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, in the  presidential race on July 9, 2014, political communications observer Hendri Satrio of Paramadina University said.          "It seems that NasDem is the political party that PDIP badly needs to form a coalition with because PDIP also needs media exposure. The next campaign stage will involve competition through a means of  media publications. This is important to help improve Jokowi's image, and the PDI's itself," Hendri said, referring to the power of media in image-building.          NasDem, according to Hendri, is a political party with a good media image. In the legislative election, NasDem could receive more votes than predicted, based on a number of pollsters quick count results. This is thanks to the media that supports it.          NasDem's chief, Suryah Paloh, is a media magnate and in charge of the Media Group, running a number of daily newspapers and the private Metro TV station.

GOVT WILL NOT EXTEND FREEPORT CONTRACT BEFORE 2019

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 12 (Antara) - The government will not extend the work contract of US-based gold and copper mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia prior to 2019, though the company is currently seeking an extension of its contract.          "There has been no decision now regarding the extension of Freeport Indonesia because the contract can only be extended two years before it expires," Director General of Mineral Resources and Coal R Sukhyar said in Jakarta on Friday.          The work contract extension signed by Freeport and the government in 1991 will expire in 2021, resulting in Freeport only being able to propose an extension in 2019.          Rumors suggested that Freeport's work contract would be extended, along with its revisions, following the enacting of a law which requires all mining firms to build smelters.          The law, Law No.4/2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining, also bans the exports of unprocessed mineral ore. Due to this new requirement, all contracts for mining firms have to be revised.    "We are negotiating on six points of revision in the work contract, but none of the six points are about contract extensions," stated Sukhyar.

NAHDLIYINS' COMEBACK GALVANIZES PKB'S VOTER TURNOUT

By Andi Abdussalam

         Jakarta, April 10 (Antara) - The National Awakening Party (PKB), which won 4.94 percent votes and ranked seventh in the 2009 legislative election, surprisingly rose to the fifth position and secured 9.5 percent of the votes in Wednesday's election.
         The increase in PKB's vote turnover to about 92 percent raised questions about the strategies PKB had adopted, which earned it a position higher than that of the 2009 legislative election. It even overshadowed the ruling Democratic Party (PD) in the fourth place, based on different unofficial quick vote counts.
         Some said that the PKB was able to gain more votes due to the popularity of artist Ahmad Dani and self-styled Dangdut singer King Rhoma Irama, as well as popular figures such as former Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud MD and former vice president Jusuf Kalla.
         However, executive director of the Indo Barometer research institute Mohammad Qodari said the dominant factor that helped the PKB galvanize its voter turnout was the support of Nahdliyins (members of the Indonesian largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama/NU).
         Nahdlatul Ulama, which was estimated to have members of about 35 to 40 million, was the Muslim organization instrumental to the birth of the PKB.

MAJOR PARTIES NEED COALITION GOVERNMENT

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 10 (Antara) - Electoral contestants in Wednesday's legislative elections will need a coalition to form a government as, based on quick counts, none of them has collected the required number of votes to nominate a presidential candidate.          Although the official results of the legislative elections will be announced by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on May 7 and 9, quick vote counts by various survey institutions have shown that none of the political parties has secured 25 percent of the votes.          By law, a political party is required to win at least 25 percent of the total votes or a minimum of 20 percent of the 560 seats contested in the House of Representatives (DPR) before it can nominate its presidential candidate to vie for the presidential election.          This suggests that the winner of Wednesday's legislative elections, in this case the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) based on the quick count, should form a coalition so that it could nominate a presidential candidate for next July 9 presidential race.

INDONESIAN FISHERY RESOURCES BENEFIT FOREIGN POACHERS

 By Andi Abdussalam

           Jakarta, April 7 (Antara) - Rich in 5,000 million fish species, Indonesia's 5.8 million square kilometers of waters continue to benefit foreign vessels as the country's policies on the fishery sector have loopholes which foreign poachers can take advantage of.
         The government's policies allowing foreigners to conduct fish catch trans-shipment on the sea and to make use of its small islands and their surrounding waters are loopholes that can be abused by foreign vessels to illegally tap Indonesian fishery resources.
         After all, Indonesia still does not have adequate fishing patrol boats to supervise its waters to ensure that fish poaching does not take place. It is estimated that Indonesia suffers a loss of about Rp30 trillion yearly due to fish poaching. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that the losses suffered by Indonesia due to illegal fishing reached Rp300 trillion per annum, according to Tempo.co in a report on January 8, 2014.

MILITARY, POLICE READY TO SECURE 2014 GENERAL ELECTIONS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 6 (Antara) - The Indonesian authorities will deploy about 280 thousand military and police personnel plus over one million community protection  officers across the country to secure next Wednesday's legislative elections.          The national police has already prepared 253,035 personnel for ensuring security of the five-yearly event at provincial and district levels. There are 31 provincial police commands in the country, 11 of them led by inspectors general and 20 other by brigadiers general.          The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) in the meantime will field about 30 thousand soldiers to help police personnel maintain security and order.          TNI Commander General Moeldoko said on Friday the military had prepared 30 thousand personnel to secure the general elections that would be held on April 9 to elect legislators and July 9 to elect a president this year.          "We have prepared about 30 thousand soldiers. However, there will be some soldiers who will stand by in the base," Moeldoko said on Friday. According to the general, the Indonesian Military has instructed the soldiers to prepare for securing the general elections since April 4, 2014, until an unspecified time.

RI'S POLITICAL PARTIES CONCLUDE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 5, (Antara) - After working hard for 21 days to present their programs to voters, Indonesian political parties concluded their legislative election campaigns across the country on Saturday.          A total of 12 electoral contestants at the national level entered the cooling-down period for three days beginning on Sunday, before 186.5 million voters go to the polls to cast their votes next Wednesday.          The Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), which many quarters consider to be the most probable winner of the upcoming elections, sent its popular presidential candidate Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, to Papau for its last day of campaigning.

SURVEYS SHOW PDIP, GOLKAR TO COMPETE FOR FIRST PLACE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 4 (Antara) - Twelve political parties at the national level will conclude their campaigns on Saturday and enter the cooling-down period on Sunday, prior to the upcoming April 9 legislative elections.          During the 21-day campaign period, which began March 16, all political parties organized campaigns and disclosed their programs in regions across the country in efforts to attract the support of 186.8 million eligible voters and win a portion of the 560 available parliamentary seats.          Surveys show that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and the Golkar Party will be in a tight race to win first place in next week's legislative elections, while third place is expected to be won by the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

SATINAH FINALLY ESCAPES BEHEADING IN SAUDI ARABIA

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 4 (Antara) - Convicted Indonesian migrant worker Satinah, facing beheading for murder in Saudi Arabia, was finally freed from the death penalty after the Indonesian government and the victim's family agreed upon a 7 million Riyal diyat payment.         "We assure that Satinah can be freed from the beheading punishment because we have transferred another two million Riyal to the victim's family. They can disburse the money as of Sunday because banks are closed in Saudi Arabia on Friday and Saturday," Gatot Abdullah Mansyur of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers Overseas (BNP2TKI) stated in Jakarta on Thursday.          Earlier the government and the victim's family agreed to a payment in diyat (blood compensation money) of 7 million Riyal, of which five million was paid in cash and the remaining two million Riyal was to be paid in installments.          Satinah, 40, who hails from Semarang, Central Java, was found guilty by the Saudi Arabian court of killing her employer 70-year old Nura al-Gharib in the Gaseem area in early 2009 and of stealing her employer's money amounting to 37.9 thousand Riyals.          She was initially punished with absolute death penalty. But the appellate court reduced her sentence to the 'Qishash' death penalty, a death punishment that could be avoided by paying diyat or blood compensation money with amounts decided by the victim's family.          Satinah has been jailed since 2009 and was scheduled to be executed on April 3, unless the requested diyat of 7.5 million Riyal, which is equal to about Rp21 billion, is paid.          Gatot Abdullah Mansyur clarified that the diyat was not paid in installments but in cash, where two million Riyals have been transferred from Indonesia to the victim's family and five million others have been handed over through the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh.          Of the 7 million Riyals, three million has been paid by the government of Indonesia and the other four million by donors who sympathized with Satinah.

GOVT HAILS IDEA TO PUT SOCIAL AID FUNDS IN ONE INSTITUTION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 3 (Antara) - The government has positively welcomed a recommendation made by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) that social assistance funds (Bansos) be managed by one institution to prevent misappropriation and to make supervision much easier.          "We need to be careful in the disbursement of the social aid funds. We welcome the KPK recommendation and hail it as a positive suggestion," Finance Minister Chatib Basri affirmed on Tuesday.          He stated that the government hailed the KPK recommendation that the management of social assistance funds be centered in one institution so that they could be distributed accurately for the interest of social purposes.         The KPK had earlier written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono regarding the use of the social aid funds. "We need to announce today that the KPK has sent a letter to the President on the management of the social aid funds," KPK Spokesman Johan Budi noted in his office on Tuesday (March 25).          Johan explained that one of the points covered in the letter asked the President to issue an instruction on the handling of the funds. "So far, the Bansos have been managed separately by various ministries. After conducting an assessment, we have sent a letter to the president suggesting that the management of the assistance be carried out only by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Other ministries should not manage social aid funds," the KPK spokesman reiterated.